Electric locomotive



.(No Model.)

, 3 Sheets-Shet 1. W. L. SILVEY.

ELEG'TRIG LOUOMOTIVE. v

Patented Jan. 12, 1897.

(NO Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheetf2.

W. L. SILVEY'. ELECTRIC LOGOMOTIVE.

Patented Jan. 12, 1897. ik 11;";

Twen'iur;

(No Model.) 3 Sheets Sheet 3.

W. L. SILVEY. ELECTRIC LOGOMOTIVB.

Patented Jan. 12, 1897.

No; 575,3l4.

Knvanhr UNlTE Fries.

\VILLIAM L. SILVEY, OF DAYTON, OHIO ELEQTRIC} LGfiGWlOTil/E.

EaPIEGIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 575,314, datedJanuary 12, 1897.

Application filed November 7, 1896. Serial No. 568,211 (No model.) i

To aZZ whom zit may concern:-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM L. SILVEY, a citisen of the United States,residing at Day ton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Electric Locomotives,of which'the following is a full, clear, and exact description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings,'forming part of thisspecification.

My invention relates to an improvement in electric locomotives of theclass in which a single motor is mounted on the truck in such a mannerthat undue strains on and vibrations of the latter, resulting from theirregu= larities of the track, will not produce bad effects on the motormechanism.

The main object of my invention is to provide means whereby thepinion-shafts, which are flexibly connected with the motor-shaft, willbe so supported that the pinions will'at all times be kept in positivemesh with the gearwheels on the axles, notwithstanding the variablepositions assumed by. the truckwheels, axles, and gear-wheels, due tothe curvature of and variations in the track over which the locomotiveis operated, the abovementioned means for supporting the pinionshaftsbeing what I will hereinafter terr gear-frames.

Another object of my invention is to combine with the gear-framessuitable casings for thegear-wheels and shaft-couplings, said casingsbeing adapted not only to protect the parts from injury, but also tocontain oil for the constant lubrication of the protected parts. H p

The invention will first be described in connection with theaccompanying drawings, and then pointed out in the claims.

, Figure 1 of the drawings is a top plan view illustrating my invention,all parts in position, with the gear and coupling casings closed. Fig. 2is a side elevation of Fig. 1, showing the manner. of mounting the motoron the truck. Fig. 3 is a top plan View illustrating-my invention withthe tops R R and Y Y of the respective coupling-casings and gear-casingsremoved and with the car-wheels and truck-frame broken away. Fig. 4: isa side elevation of Fig. 3 along the horizontal line Z Z. Fig. 5 is aperspective view of one In the drawings, Nare the side beams of thetruck; J, the wheels, and c the axles. To these side beams are attachedsuitable journal-boxes M, which are preferably surmounted by, or in asuitable manner connected to, springs L, on which the car-frame issupported. In this case I have shown the springs mounted on top of the journal-boxes and partially concealed in chambers K in the pedestals n,whereby the springs are not only steadied, but they are also protected.The pedestals are all connected together into a semirigid frame by theside beamsN and suitable end beams, as will be seen in Fig. 1. To theend beams the brake mechanism and other necessary parts (not shown) areattached. It will be observed that the side beams are attached to thejaws or pedestals n, in which the journahboxes M are free to move in avertical direction, the fork in the respective pedestals preventing thewheels and axles from get-ting out of proper alinement in a 1ongitudinaldirection and at the same time allowingthem to take up any irregularityin the track, the inequalities being taken up in the'pedestal-springs'Lwithout to any great extent throwing the side beams N out of parallelismwith respect to each other.

i The electric motor is supported upon crossbearns lV,whicl1 are securedto the side beams N of the truck by bolts Z. In some cases it isnecessary to hang these cross-beams under the side beams, so as to getthe center of the arlnature-shaftll in alinement with the center of thecar-axles; and in order to support and hold these crossbeams perfectlyrigid I use trusses O,which preventsurging or swayingof the motor or theframe on which it rests. As will be seen in the drawings, the end platesor heads 19 q of the motor are providedwith lat- These flanges aresufliciently large of any suitable metal.

type, having consequential poles, the two .lie1d-magnet rings beingmaintained equidistant by stud-bolts T, passing through lugs on therings, and. heavy nuts to keep-said rings in .alinement with each other.These rings are held in position by the arched heads n q orbearing-supports, to which the bearings Z) are attached. The armature Sconsists of a suitable slotted ring'mounted on a spider and wound withcoils of iwire, which revolves between and in close proximity to thefield magnet rings, the coils on the armature being connected to the commutator'as well as to the armature, both being supported upon the shaftH,which in turn revolves in the journalboxes I) on the arched heads ofthe motor.

On each axle cis rigidly fixed a split bevel gear-wheel g, with whichmeshesa pinion D on a short shaft E, which latter at a right angle tothe axle and has flexible connection with the motor-shaft in a mannerhereinafter described.

- Nothing above described is claimed herein; but I Will now describe thegear-frames and their combination with other parts,which eon.-stitute'my present invention, it being understood thatthere are two ofthese gear-frames, one at each end of the truck, and a description ofone will answer for both.

d represents the gear-frame, which may be The outer'end of the frame isso formed as to diametrically encompass'the gearwheel g, and on eachside of said wheel it is provided with a babbitte'd journal-bearing h,in which the axle 0 works, these hearings being covered by caps; orhalfbearings X, removablysecured thereto. thus supporting the outer endof, the gear-frame onthe axle, undue lateral movement of said frame onthe axle being prevented by the face and hub of the gear-Wheel, asclearly seen in Fig. 3. At its outer end the gear-frame -is provided onits under side with an oil-tight casing 'i, which incloses'half thegear-wheel,

. entirelyinclose the gear-wheel g.

pinion. shaft E.

and also serves to contain oil for the constant lubrication of saidwheel and its coactin g pinion, best seen in Fig. 4. A top casing Y isremovably secured to casing '13, serving to In the up per side of thegear-frame, at a right angle to the bearings k, are formed bearings 'hfor the At its rear end the gearframe is provided on its under side withan oil-tight casing Q, encompassing the flexible coupling hereinafterdescribed and adapted to receive a removable top casing R, these twocasings entirely inclosing said coupling. The casing Q is designed tocontain oil, and the coupling,by revolving therein, is kept constantlylubricated. To the inner end of easing Q, is secured a short stud m,which is adapted to rest loosely in a bearing-block k, rigidly fixed tothe crossbeam \V below and in vertical alinement with the motor-shaft.

The flexible coupling is constructed and arranged as follows: On eachend of the motorshaft llis fastened a twoarmed driver A, and

on the inner end of each pinion-shaft E is fixed a similar driver A. InFigs. 3, 4, and 5 it will be observed that the outer ends of thesedriver-arms are made to arch toward each other, so that the centers oftheouter arms shall com e as nearly in relative alinement witheach otheras possible, thereby preventing. side strains, which would-tend'todisrupt the 7 5 material of which the drivers are made. Suit- 1ably-formed links 13 are fastened at one end to the drivers by means ofbolts G, passedthrough the links and through holes in' the" outerends ofthe drivers they being similarly 8o fastened at their outer ends to afloating plate or spreader C. Considerable space is allowed between themeeting faces of the drivers AA, to permit the floating plate to takevarying positions without undue friction against the drivers. Inpractice the motor-shaft H acts as a driver and is free to revolve ineither direction, or in running downgrade, where the car becomes thedriver and the motor-armature the driven part, the pinion D and pinionoshaft E and the two-armed drivermay become the drivers, and the arm Aand motor-shaft II will then become the driven parts, which may berotated in either direction. In case the shaft H andpinion-shaft Eshould get out of 5 alinement the irregularities will be taken up by thefloating plate and the four links B. In fact,the two shafts frequentlyget out of aline-' ment as much as an inch or more in any directionwithout throwing undue strainon any of the hearings or parts and withoutthe carwheels getting out of time. There is also a considerableallowance for end-to-end motion between the parts, as the floatingplate; 0 is supposed to be suspended at all times by I05 means of thefour links which conneet it to the ends of the drivers. y The stud m onthe gear-frame d serves as a support for the inner or pinion end of thatframe, allowing the axle o to take up the ir- 11o regularities of thetrack without throwing any v strain on said frame. In fact, thegear-frame being supported at its outer end, on each side of the largegearwheel g, by the axle and at v its inner end by the stud m, thecar-axle may i I 5 assume a rotary position around the center of'thisstud, as it has a certain amount of longitudinal play in the jaws of thecar-frame, which will be taken up by the stud m sliding" inward andoutward in the box 7r, or thewheels may assume a considerable sidemotion with relation to each other, all lateral,vertical, and horizontalmotions being provided for by looseness of the stud in the box, whichpre-- vents any strain on the framework of the car; 1 z 5 and theflexible couplings A A, with'thei'r connecting-links I; and floatingplate 0, prevent any possible undue strain on the bearings, shafts, orgears, all of which are 1natters of great importance in the operation ofI30 railway and street cars, and must be provided for and their dangersguarded against before it becomes possible to rigidly gear a pluralityof axles together.

The advantages to be derived from this class of gearing are manifold.For instance,

the motor apparatus can be entirely sus-' pended upon springs formingpart of the framework of. the car, the axle gears and pinions, withtheir connecting mechanism, being supported on three points ofsuspensionnamely, the wheels J and the studmallows each pair of wheelsindependence of motion with relation to the other parts of the apparatus; there is but little dead-weight supported on the car-axle proper,for the reason that the stud m, which carries the greater part of thestrain as well as the greater part of the weight of the gear-frame, issupported on the framework of the car, and therefore the hammer-likeblows imparted to the rails by the car-wheels are' to a great extentprevented, and, finally, one motor is dispensed with by this mechanism,at the same time allowing all the flexibility that can be obtained fromhaving a motor supported on each axle.

An advantage in the rigid gearing of a plu rality of axles is that aflat wheel is seldom produced, for the reason that the irregularity ofthe friction of the brakes on the several wheels is imparted to'all thewheels alike, owing to their all being positively geared together, and,besides,it is possible to produce Very much greater tractive effect bycoupling two pairs of wheels together than if each pair of wheels weredriven independently, as well as the traotive effect produced from agiven weight, and therefore the skidding of wheels on steep grades or onslippery rails is'almost entirely prevented, for the reason that .it isimpossible to skid one pair of wheels unless all the wheels are skidded.

It is evident that the motor can be entirely incased, making itwaterproof; but I have shown only the lowerhalf of it incased,allnecessary parts,'such as the brush-holders, binding-posts, &c., havingbeen omitted for the purpose of making the drawings as plain as possibleand to avoid unnecessary prolixity.

Having thus fully described my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desireto secure by .Letters Patent, is-

1. In an electric locomotive, the combination, with the truck and anelectric motor mounted thereon, a gear-wheel rigidly securedon one ofthe axles, a pinion-shaft fleXibly coupled to the motor-shaft, and apinion carried by the pinion-shaft and in mesh wit-h the gear-wheel, ofa gear-frame affording bearing for the pinion-shaft and includingcasings for the gear-wheel and shaft-coup- -ling, the outer end of saidframe being suspended from the aide-at two points in such manner as toprevent its lateral movement, and its inner end yieldingly suspended ata single point through pivotal connection with a cross-beam of thetruck-frame, said connection comprising a stud and a bearing therefor.

2. In an electric locomotive, the combination, with the truck and anelectric motor mounted thereon, a gear-wheel rigidly secured on one ofthe axles, a pinion-shaft fiexi;

bly coupled to the motor-shaft, and a pinion carried by the pinion-shaftand in mesh with the gear-wheel, of a gear-frame affording bearing forthe pinion-shaft and including casings for the gear-wheel andshaft-coupling, said frame having at its outer end two points of supporton the axle, its inner end being yieldingly suspended at a single pointthrough pivotal connection with a cross-beam of the truck-frame, saidconnection comprisinga stud and a bearing therefor, the bearing beingbelow and in vertical alinement with the motor-shaft.

3. In an electric locomotive, the combination, with the truck and anelectric motor mounted thereon, a gear-wheel rigidly secured on one ofthe axles, a pinion-shaft flexibly coupled to the motor-shaft, and apinion carried by the pinion-shaft and in mesh with the gearwheel, of agear-frame affording bearing forthe pinion-shaft and including,

at its outer andinner ends respectively, casings for the gear-wheel andshaft-coupling, the coupling-casing being provided on its inner end witha fixed stud, and a bearingblock secured to a motor-supporting crossbeamof the. truck below and in vertical alinement with the motor-shaft, saidstud being adapted torest loosely in said block, thereby supporting theinner end of the gearframe at a single point, the outer end of saidframe having two points of support on the axle, one on each side of thegear-wheel.

In testimony whereof I have set my hand in presence of two subscribingwitnesses.

WILLIAM L. SILVEY.

\Vitnesses:

E. B. LEHMAN, W. G. MITCHELL.

TOD,

